Looking forward to the resumption of the Premier League and Championship programmes on Saturday, which include Reading taking on Millwall at Madejski Stadium?
No, me neither.
Such is the sorry state of Royals at the moment, even with an international break to have possibly refreshed most of them, I can’t muster much enthusiasm for the challenge ahead this weekend.
After a miserable five defeats in six home league games at the Mad Stad this season, you again wonder what horrors await.
Especially as Millwall appear to have emerged from their own slump, with a decent 2-2 draw at Nottingham Forest and a 2-1 win over Aston Villa at The Den in their past two outings.
In those games, they trailed 2-0 and 1-0 respectively – a sure sign that the Lions do not give up the ghost readily.
Oh dear, my knees have gone all trembly already …
To be honest, I’d rather reflect on the Three Lions – England’s 3-2 victory in Spain on Monday night – than dwell on the prospect of another Mad Stad fiasco.
It’s taken me a while to warm to the Uefa Nations League – and I still don’t fully understand its labyrinthine workings.
But it’s becoming crystal clear that, after a perhaps low-key inaugural set of fixtures last month, the competition is slickly moving through the gears.
What was there not to like about England’s stirring win over Spain in Seville on Monday evening – particularly Eric Dier’s spectacular wipe-out, after just 11 minutes, of the odious Sergio Ramos?
It set the tone for what followed – a full-on contest containing five goals, seven bookings, spicy exchanges galore and fan frenzy for both the Spanish and English followers.
So much for the decades of dreary international friendlies, which have offered little to the fans in terms of meaning or excitement.
Three points are now up for grabs and there are promotion and relegation issues to resolve.
England beat Spain 3-2 in the UEFA Nations League
(Image: PA)
I also like the fact that the countries are now more evenly matched, with fewer thrashings or humiliations.
With the top, middle and lower orders restricted to their separate pods, the sense of anticipation and intrigue is far greater.
Apart from England inflicting serious pain in Spain, I also marvelled at Gibraltar’s 1-0 success in Armenia – the first win in their brief Uefa history in 23 competitive matches.
And their subsequent 2-1 home win over Liechtenstein on Tuesday evening – the first time that they had scored more than one goal in a game.
The Netherlands’ 3-0 crunching of fallen giants Germany was good, too – as was the Germans’ 2-1 follow-up reverse away to world champions France.
Of course, it would be remiss of me to let pass the getting-worse-by-the-month Scotland losing 2-1 to mighty Israel!
All of which leads me to lament the return of the Championship, Reading v Millwall on Saturday and many of the forthcoming second-tier fixtures.
Bring on the Nations League next month, featuring England v Croatia – a possible Group A4 title decider – at Wembley Stadium on November 18.
Can’t wait.
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